Dumping Rich Hill wasn’t enough today, as the Cubs also have sent
reliever Michael Wuertz to the Oakland Athletics for a couple of old
non-prospects – outfielder Richie Robnett and infielder Justin
Sellers. Quite a disappointing return for a guy who can put up a
mid-3.00 ERA for $1 million. Here’s a quick take on the return from
the Cubs.com
release:
Robnett, 25, was selected by the Athletics in the first
round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. A left-handed hitter, he
was limited to 82 games last season after early season surgery to
remove a tumor from his stomach. He batted .236 at Triple-A, and has a
.256 average in five Minor League seasons.He was added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster and will report to Spring
Training camp.Sellers, who turned 23 on Sunday, was selected by Oakland in the sixth
round of the 2005 Draft. He spent an entire season at Double-A Midland
for the first time in 2008, batting .255 with 15 doubles, eight
triples, six home runs, 46 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 123 games. He
will report to the Cubs’ Minor League camp this spring.
The Chicago Cubs bullpen was hopelessly crowded – and hopelessly
right-handed – so dumping Wuertz is neither surprising nor a bad move.
But the guy had value. Cheap. Effective. And the return – on very
quick glance – looks basically irrelevant.
